A person waling on the deck of a floating pier installed in a marina or the like and used for pleasure boats and so forth, or people on board a pleasure boat or the like that is moored or preparing to dock or depart, sometimes accidentally fall into water. The marine safety ladders that reach from the deck to the water are provided along the floating pier in case such accidents should happen. The person who has fallen into the water or a rescuer who has gone into the water to help the fallen person makes his or her way to the safety ladder, climbs the safety ladder, and comes out of the water onto the deck of the floating pier. Similar accidents would occur on pleasure boats when people fall off the transom step.
A rescue apparatus that is used with boats and floating piers and includes such a safety ladder as described above is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 2000-144633. The floating pier-use rescue apparatus disclosed in this publication comprises a safety ladder and a fender member. The safety ladder is provided at a location a specific distance away from a cleat attachment location where a pleasure boat or the like is to be moored, and the fender member is provided to the periphery of the safety ladder and enclosing a space large enough for a person to fit through.
In a water rescue apparatus as described above, a person who has fallen into the water makes his or her way to the rescue apparatus and climbs the safety ladder. Pleasure boats and the like moor alongside floating piers; however, the possibility that a pleasure boat and the like will come into contact with a rescue apparatus is kept to a minimum by way of providing the rescue apparatus at a location a specific distance away from any cleats used for mooring. Even if a pleasure boat or the like should come into contact with a rescue apparatus, however, the impact is cushioned by the fender member.
Also, the safety ladder is divided into an upper ladder and a lower ladder, and the lower ladder is designed so that it can be stowed in the upper ladder through a latching means. When not in use, the lower ladder is stowed in the upper ladder and located above the water line, and at the time of use the latching means is released so that the lower ladder is extended downward. A person who has fallen makes his or her way to the rescue apparatus, releases the latching means so as to allow the lower ladder to move down into the water, and puts his or her feet on the lower ladder and climbs out onto the deck of the floating pier or onto the transom step of a boat.
A similar safety ladder is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open (Kokai) H7-24697. The safety ladder disclosed in this publication is disposed on the outside of a vessel by placing a hook over the gunwale and is comprised of a stationary ladder and a sliding ladder. A landing space is provided on the sliding ladder at the bottom, and a rescue winch is provided for raising and lowering the sliding ladder. The safety ladder is normally stowed on board, and it is deployed to the outside of the vessel in the event of an accident.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) 2000-144633
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open (Kokai) H7-24697